Sneak Preview: 'Biutiful,' 'The Rite,' 'The Mechanic' and more

Thursday

Jan 27, 2011 at 12:01 AMJan 27, 2011 at 10:49 PM

"Biutiful," "The Rite," "The Mechanic," "The Illusionist" and "Nurenburg: It's Lesson for Today."

Al Alexander

Biutiful

Here’s your chance to see Javier Bardem’s Oscar-nominated portrayal of a dying man hurriedly trying to put his affairs in order before he breathes his last breath. Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (“Babel,” “21 Grams,” “Amores Perros”), “Biutiful” is, at its heart, a story of a career criminal reconciling with the error of his ways as he comes to understand the importance of family.

The Rite

Sir Anthony Hopkins isn’t the first actor I’d think of to play a member of the cloth, but here he is, portraying an expert on exorcisms. Inspired by actual events, the film follows a seminary student (Colin O’Donoghue) sent to Rome to be tutored by Hopkins’ Father Lucas, who has a knack for attracting demons, even some inside the Vatican. Mikael Hafstrom (“1408”) directs.

The Mechanic

The world’s No. 1 action star, Jason Statham, is back kicking butts and taking names in this bloody ode to mayhem about a highly trained assassin (aka “Mechanic”) going rogue after his good friend and mentor (Donald Sutherland) is murdered. Pity the poor killers when Statham shows up on their doorstep ready to shove a muzzle down their throats as they beg him to pull the trigger. Ben Foster costars as Sutherland’s angry, grieving son.

Nurenburg: It’s Lesson for Today

Commissioned by the War Department in the grim days following the end of World War II, Stuart Schulberg’s long-lost documentary chronicles the famous trial of top Nazi war criminals. While the film made the rounds in Germany in the late 1940s, it was never shown in the U.S. –– until now. And it’s been meticulously restored by Schulberg’s daughter, Sandra, and Josh Waletzky so that future generations can learn the truth of the heinous crimes that were committed during Hitler’s reign.

The Illusionist

Director Sylvain Chomet follows up on his Oscar-nominated smash, “The Triplets of Belleville,” with this decidedly different animated tale about an aging magician and the surrogate daughter who gives him a reason to smile again. Be sure to bring the tissues, ’cause you’re gonna need ’em for this Oscar-nominated charmer.